WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- U.S. President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Thursday to try to fence off the increasing pressure he has been facing in recent months to disclose his tax returns.
The latest lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in New York against Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and Mazars USA, Trump's longtime accounting firm, in an attempt to block New York persecutors' efforts to obtain the president's tax returns.
It followed media reports emerging Monday that a subpoena was sent in August by Vance's office to Mazars USA, requesting eight years of Trump's state and federal tax returns. The firm said in a statement Monday it "will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations."
"In response to the subpoenas issued by the New York County District Attorney, we have filed a lawsuit this morning in Federal Court on behalf of the President in order to address the significant constitutional issues at stake in this case," Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow said in a statement Thursday morning.
Vance, a Democrat, also subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to the alleged hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had an affair with Trump.
In addition, Vance has also been pursuing a mortgage fraud case against Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman.
Trump told reporters on Sept. 9 that he will release a report detailing his financial holdings before Election Day, which falls on Nov. 3, 2020. He, however, did not respond to reporters' question whether he would disclose his tax returns.
Also on Sept. 9, the president filed a court document via his lawyer, arguing that federal judges should deny a motion issued Aug. 29 by New York State officials to dismiss Trump's lawsuit trying to challenge the state's recently enacted law that allows Congress to request his tax returns.
Trump's lawyers purported in the document that the officials' motion should either be rejected or should not be ruled on until Congress makes a request for the president's state tax returns.
New York State has enacted what is known as the TRUST Act, which authorizes the state's Department of Taxation and Finance to share public officials' tax return information with a requesting Congressional tax committee.
"As the home state of Donald Trump, New York has a special role to play to help avoid a constitutional crisis between the President and Congress in their effort to obtain his tax returns," New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, who proposed the TRUST Act, said in a statement on July 8, when the legislation was signed into law by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Trump on July 23 filed a lawsuit "in his capacity as a private citizen" against Democrat-led House Ways and Means Committee, as well as New York State's attorney general and its tax chief, claiming that the House panel "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose" to invoke the TRUST Act to obtain his New York tax returns.
In response, Hoylman said in a statement the same day that Trump's lawsuit challenging the legislation "is without merit."